WhenToBird

Aix sponsa · Anatidae

When Do Wood Ducks Arrive in Idaho?

Adult male Wood Duck
Photo: Andrew Lai, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Wood Ducks are in Idaho all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from mid October, peak in late March (9.7% of checklists), and fall back by early May. In the quietest week (the second week of July) they are still on about 3.7% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 15-21mid October
PeakMar 22-31late March
Fall back byMay 1-7early May
FewestJul 8-14the second week of July

Best: late March. Here all year; numbers build from mid October and fall back by early May. Peak: on about 9.7% of Idaho checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 6.7% of 9357 checklistsJan 8-14: 6.9% of 6408 checklistsJan 15-21: 7.0% of 6358 checklistsJan 22-31: 6.7% of 8601 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.0% of 5611 checklistsFeb 8-14: 6.7% of 6090 checklistsFeb 15-21: 6.8% of 7973 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.4% of 5866 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.8% of 6144 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.4% of 6456 checklistsMar 15-21: 9.3% of 6786 checklistsMar 22-31: 10% of 9539 checklistsApr 1-7: 9.4% of 7202 checklistsApr 8-14: 8.8% of 7608 checklistsApr 15-21: 8.7% of 8069 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.0% of 10973 checklistsMay 1-7: 7.0% of 9481 checklistsMay 8-14: 6.5% of 11318 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.7% of 9141 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.3% of 13984 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.5% of 8897 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.2% of 8504 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.6% of 8078 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.9% of 9665 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.1% of 7144 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.2% of 6557 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.7% of 6430 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.4% of 8696 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.6% of 5896 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.7% of 5643 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.8% of 6151 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.6% of 7863 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.5% of 5769 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.7% of 5646 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.2% of 5460 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.6% of 6363 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.0% of 4980 checklistsOct 8-14: 6.6% of 5096 checklistsOct 15-21: 6.3% of 4878 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.7% of 6426 checklistsNov 1-7: 6.8% of 4822 checklistsNov 8-14: 7.3% of 4999 checklistsNov 15-21: 9.3% of 4601 checklistsNov 22-30: 7.7% of 6027 checklistsDec 1-7: 8.3% of 4180 checklistsDec 8-14: 7.4% of 4775 checklistsDec 15-21: 7.0% of 6522 checklistsDec 22-31: 7.6% of 7792 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Idaho that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Idaho

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kootenai CountyBest the second week of April · 140 checklists that week, 8,249 in all28%
  2. Benewah CountyBest mid June · 92 checklists that week, 2,541 in all22%
  3. Boundary CountyBest late April · 163 checklists that week, 6,362 in all22%
  4. Ada CountyBest late November · 1861 checklists that week, 84,430 in all21%
  5. Payette CountyBest late April · 116 checklists that week, 2,860 in all19%
  6. Nez Perce CountyBest early April · 191 checklists that week, 10,708 in all18%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clearwater RiverNez Perce County, best mid February · 26 checklists that week, 513 in all99%
  2. Wilson Springs Access SiteCanyon County, best late November · 29 checklists that week, 1,000 in all98%
  3. Kathryn Albertson ParkAda County, best early September · 24 checklists that week, 3,927 in all98%
  4. Greenbelt SeAda County, best late March · 21 checklists that week, 582 in all92%
  5. Hyatt Hidden Lakes ReserveAda County, best the second week of July · 24 checklists that week, 2,507 in all92%
  6. Julia Davis ParkAda County, best the second week of January · 28 checklists that week, 310 in all77%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Idaho, the Wood Duck is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (8.3% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (180) to judge1 am: too few checklists (176) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (164) to judge4 am: too few checklists (450) to judge5 am: too few checklists (2270) to judge6 am: 7.5% of 9122 checklists7 am: 8.6% of 22204 checklists8 am: 8.2% of 38672 checklists9 am: 8.2% of 38930 checklists10 am: 6.9% of 37338 checklists11 am: 5.3% of 33508 checklists12 pm: 5.6% of 28544 checklists1 pm: 5.8% of 25774 checklists2 pm: 6.4% of 24296 checklists3 pm: 5.9% of 21784 checklists4 pm: 5.9% of 19051 checklists5 pm: 5.5% of 14150 checklists6 pm: 5.4% of 10014 checklists7 pm: 4.4% of 7495 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1449) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (525) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January6.7%6.9%7.0%6.7%
February7.0%6.7%6.8%8.4%
March8.8%8.4%9.3%10%
April9.4%8.8%8.7%8.0%
May7.0%6.5%5.7%5.3%
June4.5%4.2%4.6%3.9%
July4.1%3.2%3.7%4.4%
August4.6%4.7%4.8%5.6%
September5.5%6.7%6.2%6.6%
October7.0%6.6%6.3%7.7%
November6.8%7.3%9.3%7.7%
December8.3%7.4%7.0%7.6%

Neighboring states

  • Montana: arrives the second week of March, 19 weeks later than Idaho
  • Utah: arrives mid August, 8 weeks earlier than Idaho
  • Oregon: arrives mid July, 12 weeks earlier than Idaho
  • Washington: arrives mid March, 20 weeks later than Idaho

Common questions

When do Wood Ducks arrive in Idaho?
Wood Ducks are in Idaho all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from mid October, peak in late March (9.7% of checklists), and fall back by early May. In the quietest week (the second week of July) they are still on about 3.7% of checklists.
When do Wood Ducks leave Idaho?
Wood Ducks never fully leave Idaho: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by early May, but some are still reported in every week, about 3.7% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Wood Duck in Idaho?
The Wood Duck is reported most often in late March, on about 9.7% of Idaho checklists.
Where in Idaho are Wood Ducks seen most often?
By county, Kootenai County, Benewah County, and Boundary County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Wood Duck (counties with at least 200 checklists).